BMW car sales up; China offsets Europe weakness

ChristophRauwald

FRANKFURT--BMW AG said Monday (BMW.XE) its global car sales rose in May as strong demand in China more than offset slightly weaker sales in Europe, leaving the world's bestselling luxury-car maker on course for a new sales record this year despite persistent economic uncertainty.

"New products such as the BMW 6-series Gran Coupe, which we launched on June 1, as well as the new BMW 7-series, will continue to drive momentum," BMW sales chief Ian Robertson said in a statement.

BMW's global sales were up 6.4% on the year in May at 156,957 cars, marking a new record level for the month and suggesting that demand for premium cars continues to hold up well despite a jittery global economy.

The Munich-based firm benefits from a relatively young product line-up following the recent launch of new versions of several high-volume models such as the compact 1-series and the 5-series.

Sales of the five-door 1-series hatchback surged 59% year-on-year to 14,748 cars in May. The 3-door version of the 1-series will be launched in September, along with the new-generation of the 3-series Touring model.

In January-to-May period, BMW's global sales were up 9.1% compared with the same period last year at 728,029 cars. The namesake BMW brand accounted for 607,207 vehicles, up 9.3% from last year, and the Mini brand for 119,532 cars, up 7.9%.

China was once again the main driver for BMW's sales growth with a 32% rise in deliveries to 27,815 cars last month. Sales in Europe, however, edged down 1.7% to 75,374 cars. BMW said several markets in northern and central Europe such as the U.K., the Netherlands and Austria posted robust growth, but sales in markets hit by tough austerity measures came in lower.

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